Wrought Iron Wine Racks
From LoveToKnow Wine
Heavy Duty Racks
Like a bad TV soap opera, this type of iron wine rack can sometimes be overwrought. Filigreed and curly-cued, wrought iron wine racks are not designed for serious wine storage—that's best left for the cellar. No, these tough-as-nails wine racks offer up benefits for wine aficionados wanting to store and showcase a few wines. This type of rack does both but with potential decorative flair.
Indestructible Convenient Wine Racking for the Short-term
Wines are best stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment with limited light and a place with minimal vibration. Most people don't have the space or budget to build a stylish wood-racked wine cellar that keeps the temperature optimally fixed at around 55º to 58º. Most people don't have 2-3 thousand bottles to cellar either. A more sensible alternative would be a wine storage cabinet. These are self-contained temperature controlled coolers that effectively control temperatures as well but will only hold anywhere from 20 bottles to a couple of hundred. But the majority of wine bought in stores is drunk, if not the same day, then within a few weeks from purchase. This leads one to the question of, "What's the point of a having a wine cellar?" Well, for those wines with a short life span, the answer is, "Not much." So, without the wine cellar or wine cooler where to put that 2004 bottle of Côtes-du-Rhône that's ready to drink now?
Wrought iron wine racks offer an interesting and flexible option. They don't burn, bend, break, or splinter and they are similar to cockroaches: practically indestructible. Many are designed for strict functionality while others shoot for imaginative style and design to draw attention to itself and its precious cargo, the wine. The great thing about these types of wine racks, they are convenient and fairly easy to move around, just pick them up (empty of course) and place it next to the dining room sideboard or then shift it the other side of the room to avoid the sunlight that's streaming thru the window.
What to Look For
Wrought iron wine racks offer styles galore, with many designed to hold 4-6 bottles on a countertop for easy access and viewing of your inventory. Others are floor models that can hold 2-3 cases worth of wine which should hopefully hold you for at least a couple of days. There are even a few that are wall mounted and hold a half a dozen bottles. First thing is to assess how many bottles of wine you normally keep around the house and if you want to have them on display. Also, if you do have a wine cellar or cooling cabinet, perhaps you just want to keep a few wines handy to avoid going downstairs into the garage in the dark only to trip over your kid's bicycles or hockey sticks and land up in the emergency room for some stitches on your knee...but I digress.
Wrought iron wine racks are available usually with gun-metal steel, black matte iron, iron powdered, and also other painted finishes. As far as designs go, obviously the designers and artisans that make these racks can get creative and a tad eclectic. There are vertical stands with bottles held spiraling down from top to bottom. There are contemporary styles that are sleek and might even catch Frank Gehry's eye or put a grin on Antoni Gaudí's face. Living in a classic Spanish Colonial style house? Then there are a variety of wrought iron racks with a rustic medieval scrollwork that will fit right in. Many racks have grape leaves or clusters welded on as embellishments to remind you that the rack is for wine, not that you couldn't figure that out on your own. Best advice is to figure out the utilitarian angle first of how many bottles you need to rack and then pretend to be an interior designer and choose one. One concept I've been looking for is a kind of standing rack that holds a few bottles that spins. This would be perfect for a game of, wine roulette, just spin the wine bottle rack and see if you get lucky.
Placement Advice
I won't give you advice where to put your rack but I can offer suggestions where not to put it. The kitchen is where the cooking is done. There's a stove in there as well as a refrigerator. They both give off heat, the stove is obvious and the refrigerator less so, remember the fridge has an electric motor to power the refrigeration unit and this blows out warm air from the bottom. Place your rack on a counter on the far side of the kitchen away from the primary heat areas, or better yet, avoid the kitchen altogether. Keep your wine out of direct sunlight, away from places with big temperature swings, and avoid high humid areas. Also, keep it out of the guest room where your black sheep uncle stays when he visits.
Where to Find
You can find many wrought iron wine racks at wine retailers but also at many furniture stores and at places like Costco or Ikea. But as is the case in our modern world, web shopping makes it a lot easier to browse around and get as many options as possible. The following are a few websites that offer racks:
Search and you'll find more.
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